How to Clear Browser Cache

Whenever you visit your Kinduct site, your web browser saves certain information from the site on your computer’s hard drive in the “browser cache.” Most of the time, this is a positive thing, as it helps speed up your web browsing experience by eliminating the need to download the same static resources over and over as you browse around a web page. But sometimes this cache can actually cause problems for your browsing experience, especially when we have made changes to your platform or our infrastructure - browser caching issues can arise after a feature release, with upgrades to our infrastructure or with configuration changes to your site. That’s when you need to clear your browser cache.

Usually "clearing your browser cache" or sometimes just a simple "hard refresh" (not the same!) is an important diagnostic when you're having issues with your site.

How to do a "Hard Refresh"

A hard refresh is a way of clearing the browser’s cache for a specific page, to force it to load the most recent version of a page. Sometimes, when changes are made to the platform, they don’t register immediately due to caching. A hard refresh will usually fix this, though occasionally completely clearing the browser cache is necessary.

Windows:

A quick hard refresh can be done by using the following shortcut keys:

Hold down Ctrl and click the Reload button.

Or, Hold down Ctrl and press F5.

Mac:

Hold ⇧ Shift and click the Reload button.

Or, hold down ⌘ Cmd and ⇧ Shift key and then press R.

Clearing Browser Cache

Here we'll show you how to clear the browser cache of most major browsers. Click one of the links below to learn how to clear the cache for the particular browser you use:

Clear Browser Cache for Google Chrome

To clear the browser cache for Google Chrome, click the Three Dots icon in the top right of your browser window. Then, find the More Tools option and select Clear browsing data… from the submenu:

Alternatively, you can also use the hotkey combination:CTRL + SHIFT + DEL (PC) or CMD + SHIFT + DEL (MAC) . Chrome will open up a new tab with a popup window titled Clear Browsing Data. Make sure that only the Cached images and files box is checked. Otherwise, you might accidentally clear your browsing history, saved passwords, cookies, and more:

You can also change the timeframe at the top, though usually the default of 4 weeks is perfectly fine. Then, click the Clear browsing data button to clear your cache.

Clear Browser Cache for Mozilla Firefox

To clear the browser cache for Mozilla Firefox, click the Hamburger icon in the top right and select History:

Then, in the menu that appears next, select Clear Recent History…

You can also access the menu by using the shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + DEL (PC) or CMD + SHIFT + DEL (MAC). Firefox will then open a popup. In the Time range to clear: drop-down, select Everything. Then, make sure to only check the Cache box to avoid clearing important browsing data. Then, click Clear Now to clear your cache:

Clear Browser Cache for Safari

To clear the browser cache for Safari, you have two options. If you’re ok with clearing your entire browsing history (including cookies and visited pages), you can take the easy approach and just go to History → Clear History:

To only empty Safari’s browser cache, you’ll need to enable the Develop menu by going to Safari→ Preferences → Advanced and then check the Show Develop menu in menu bar box:

Clear Browser Cache for Internet Explorer

To clear the browser cache for Internet Explorer, click the Gear icon in the top right to access the Tools menu. Then, find Safety and select Delete Browsing History… from the submenu:

You can also access the menu by using the shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + DEL. Internet Explorer will open a popup. Make sure to only select the Temporary Internet files and website files box to avoid clearing important information. Then, click the Delete button at the bottom: